Bank desk



mum-

C. STINSON.

BANK DESK.

man :uw al. 1922.

' Jan. 9m w23,

.5 rows and Patented den. td, i923.

CHARLES STIFTSON, GEEST. THOlllllltSi 'NTARJEO, CANADA.

Application tiled .Tu-1y 3l,

[ all Lo/7mm t muy; concern.' l

lle it known that l, Cinmnns pirineos, a subject ott the Fling of Great Britain, and resident of the city of St. Thomas, in the county olf Elgin and Province ot Ontario, llanada, have invented certain new and use-` :l'ul lmproveinents in Bank Desks, ot which the following;v is a specification. My inventiony relates to improvements in i() deslrs and'tills for cashiers and tellers in banks, or ttor use in other places Where money or valuables are handled which are apt to be the object oftheft.

Une object oi theinvention is to provide a desir or till that can be caused to disappear' trom view by passing through the floor, and will be thus4 rendered inaccessible trom the room in which is ordinarily is placed.

it further object is to provide a device 2o ot this character that will be simple in construction and rapid and elicient in operation, and wherein, after a slight initial operation, the whole device is automatic in character.

'llhese and other objects will be apparent from the following description andthe appended claims;

ln the drawings: Figure l is a perspective view ot the desk as it appears in use;

Figure 2 is a perspective vien7 with parts in section7 of the entire device;

Figure 3 is a vertical section thereof;

Figure 4l isa section on the line `41.--4- oit lligure 3, looking` in the direction ot the ar- Fipnures and (i are vertical sections on the lines 55 and 6--6 respectively ot Fin'- ure 4l, lookingn in the direction ot the arrovvs at the ends of said lines.

The device consists of two .main parts. an upper,` inner or desir section l Ylocated mainly above the floor when inI use, and a lower, outer or receiving section 2, located beneath the floor. p

Attached to a bracket 3 or other suitable support in the part 1 is a vertical rack member al; which meshes with a pinion 5 carried by a shaft 6 mounted at its inner end in a standard 7 carried by the section 2 and at the section 2. it key or crank 9 adapted to .lit the end of the shalt tis used 'tor rotat- .ingl the saine when it desired to move the section 1 into upper position.

its outer end has a bearing' S in. the Wall Lot DESK.

1922. Serial No.` 578,309.

. The section 1 is normally held in its 'upper or operative position by pins 10 that pass througrll, the walls oil" the sections l and and througrh spacing blocks 11.v therebe.- A

tvveen; At their outer-'ends these pins are pivoted to arms 12 fastened to shafts 13 `mounted in bearings 111. The front end of ach shali't 13 carries a bevel gear 15 and these bevel Agears mesh with bevel gears 16 on a shaft 1'? mounted inbearinnjs 17 at the `front of the device. Jtll of the Fbearings 14; and 17, as Well as the shafts and gears, are preferably mounted beneath the floor and are carried by the section 2. rFile shaft 1'? has attached thereto an arm 18 which is engaged bv a pin 19 passinpthrough the floor il. This pin is normallyn held in raised position by a coiled spring' 20 and has a buttonor knob 2l at its upper end.

Pivoted at 22 to the inner side ot' the section 2 is a member 23 having a tongue 24C. There are preferably four ot these members as illustrated. To the opposing outer sides ot the section 1` are attached blocks 25 with grooves 26 adapted to receive the tongues 2/1 when the section 1' is lowered into the section 9.; T he mannerin which these parts engage is clearly shown in Figure Ll. Each member is normally pressed inward at its lower end by a compression spring 27 mounted in a housing 28 and having a screw 29 for adjusting its tension.

Mounted to slide in the section 1 is a drawer or till 30 having a handle or knob 3l. on its front end and a ratchet member 32 attached to its underside. A spring 3&2 attached to lthe till 30 and its other end to a shaft 333 mounted in a bracket arm 34; extending 'trom the side ot the section. l.` Fawl and ratchet mechanism 35 keeps the sprintf` under any desired tension.

To retain the till 30 open against the tenn sion oit the spring there is provided a detent 36 (Figure G) pivoted to a side ot the section 1 at`37 and connected b v a link 38 to a lever ltlpivoted at 40 and having` a finger piece Ll1 extending' through a slot 42 in the liront Wall ofthe casingl 1. Branching; from the liulrf E3 is an arm 13 uponnfhieh is a pin L l-t in position to engagea spring arm fastened to the section i2 when the .section 1 is loweredl The detent 36 is normally held in engagement with the ratchet 32 by a spring' 3 6.

has one end When the section 1 is lowered a contact 47 thereon engages two contacts, 4S on section 2 to close a circuit. yThis may operate a bell or any desired signal.

The shaft 17 is provided with a spring 49 to normally hold the pins 10 in locking position, and to return them to such posi tion when the section 1 is raised after having been previously lowered.

The operation of the device is evident from what has been said, but may be brieiiy summarized as follows: Supposing the parts to be in the normal working position shown in the figures. The till 3() is held open by the detent 36 engaging the ratchet 32, and if it is desired to close the same, the linger piece 41 is moved to the opposite end of the slot 42 thus moving the detent out of engagement with the ratchet and permitting the spring 32 to retract the till 30 to the position shown in Figure Q.

It the till is open and it is desired to cause the whole device to disappear, the op erator steps upon the button 21. This rotates the shafts 17 and 13, withdrawing the locking pins 10 from the section 1 and permitting it to drop by its own weight. In this downward movement the engagement of the members 25 with the cooperating spring pressed members 23 serve to guide the section 1 and acts as a. buffer to prevent too sudden a fall and resulting shock.

As soon as the section 1 begins its descent, the engagement of the pin 44 with the member 45 rocks the detent 36 out ot engagement with the ratchet 32 through thc connections 43 and 38, and thus permits the Spring 32 to draw the till to closed position before it reaches the level of the floor, thus preventing the till from being caught on the floor.

When it is desired to return the parts to normal position, the shaft 6 is rotated by means of the key or crank 9 and the resultant rotation of the pinion 5 moves the rack 4 and section 1 to operative position. As soony as normal position is reached. the spring 49 rotates the shafts 17 and 15%. thus moving the pins 10 into locking position.

The device may be made of any desired material. If the size renders it advisable. the rac-k 4 and pinion 5 may hc duplicated, It is obvious that b v any suitable entension. the shaft 17 may be operated from a dis-v tance to trip .the mechanism lVhile illustrated as a bank desk provided with a till. it is obvious that the invention may be used in other relations and without said till. Manually operated means tor raising the section 1 to operative position have been shown. but power means for rotating the sha'tt 6 may be employed without departing from the scope olI the invention.

I claim:

1.'In a bank desk, an upper or desk sec tion, a. lower section into which the upper section may telescope, means for holding said upper section in operative position, a sliding drawer in they upper section. means tending to hold said drawer closed. detent mechanism Vfor locking the drawer open. means for releasing the holding meansI and permitting the upper section to drop.y and means operated by the movement of the upper section tor releasing thi?r detent mecha-A nism and permitting the drawer to close.

2. In a bank desk, an upper or desk seetion. a lower section into which the upper section may telescope. means for holdinpr the upper section in operative, position. a sliding drawer in the upper section` `spring means tending to hold said drawer closed. a atchet carried by said drawer. detent means engaging the ratchet to lock the drawer in desired open position. manual means for releasing the detent mechanism. means for releasing the holding means and permitting the upper section to drop. and means operated by the teleseoping move ment oi. the upper section tor releasing the detent mechanism' and permitting the drawer to close.

3. In a bank desk. an upper or desk section. a lower section into which the upper section may telescope. meansI i'or holding the upper section in operative position. a sliding drawer in the upper section. means ior locking said drawer open. means for releasing said holding means and permitting the upper .section to drop and automathl means Jfor releasing and closing said drawer upon the movement ot the upper section.

4. In a bank desk. a desk section adapted to move trom operative to inoperative position, means ior holding the desk section in operative position, a sliding drawer therein. means tor retaining the drawer open. and automatic means controlled by the movement of the desk section to inoperative position for closing said drawer.

5. In a bank desk. a desk section adapted to move from operative, to inoperative position. means tor holding the desk section in operative position. a movable compartment therein. means 'for retaining,r said compartment open. and automatic means controlled by the increment ot the desk section to inopA ei'ative position vl'or closing said compartment.

(i. In a bank desk. an upper or desk seetion. a lower section into which the upper section may telescope. means tor holding ther upper section in operative position. said means comprising pins passing through the walls ot both sections. shalis to which said pins are connected. and means 'for rotating all oi`Y said sha'lts to simultaneously withdraw said pins and permit the upper section to drop to inoperative position.

In a bank desk. an upper or desk see llh tion, a lower section into which the upper section may telescope, means for holding the upper section in operative position, grooved members carried by the upper section and spring pressed tongued members carried by the lower section, said members being adapt ed to engage during the telescoping movement of the upper section to guide said section and act as a bufler therefor.

8. In a bank desk, an upper or desk section, a lower section into which the upper section may telescope, grooved members carried by the upper section, a plurality of members carried by the lower section, each member being pivoted at one end to a wall and spring pressed away from the wall at other end and provided with atongue, the tongue and groove members engaging duringr the telescoping movement of the upper section, thereby acting as guides during the movement and as a buffer therefor.

9.111 a bank desk, an upper or desk section, a lower section into which the upper section may telescope, grooved members carried by one section, tongued members carried by the other section, each tongued member being pivoted at one end to a wall, a spring to engage the other end thereof, and means for varying the tension of the spring, said spring members acting as a buffer during the telescoping movement of the upper section.`

10. A bank desk comprising two sections normally in extended operative position but adapted to collapse, means for holding the sections in operative position, means for releasing said means and permitting the sections to collapse, and a buffer comprising a member pivoted near one end to the outer section and spring pressed into position to be engaged by the inner section in its de scent to absorb the jar of the collasping movement.

ll. A bank desk comprising an upper or desk section, a lower section into which the upper section may collapse, a rack member carried by the upper section, a pinion engaging said rack, a shaft mounted in the lower section and carrying said pinion, and means for rotating said shaft to move the upper section to extended position.

l2. A bank desk comprising an upper or desk section, a. lower section into which the upper section may collapse, a rack member carried by the upper section, a. pinion engagging` said rack, a shaft mounted in the lower section and carrying said pinion, means for rotating said shaft to move the upper section to extended position, and means automatically operative when the upper section reaches its extended position for locking the sections in said position.

ln testimony whereof, l have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLES STlNSON. 

